


Not That They Were a Couple

by TWDObsessive



Series: The Couple [1]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: At least they don't think they're a couple, Come on...we all know they're a couple, Falling In Love, First Kiss, M/M, Oblivious Daryl, Oblivious Rick, Rick wants it on record that he is not a half-assed kisser, and not even realizing it, not really a couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-30 10:31:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5160461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TWDObsessive/pseuds/TWDObsessive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt fill for Skarlatha.  After one of our lengthy conversations about Rick and Daryl, I got this message:</p><p>"What I want is a very simple little domestic fic where Rick and Daryl are not together but then they just... transition into being a couple without even really thinking about it. Like, for example, Daryl gets back from a run or something and just kisses Rick hello all casually without thinking, and that's the first time they've kissed but they don't even realize it at first because they're so close already.</p><p>And then later that night, Rick suddenly goes, "Oh, wow, we totally kissed earlier, didn't we?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not That They Were a Couple

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skarlatha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skarlatha/gifts).



> So I always do what Skari asks. Plus- it was nice to write some fluffier stuff since my current long fic that is being posted daily is soooo emotional and grief-filled and angsty. If any of you are reading it... Here's a little something less serious to ease the intensity of Blooms Among The Dead!
> 
> Also- be warned- this is completely unbeta'd since this is a gift for Skari, and she's super busy doing final edits on Blooms and working on a long fic of her own (that you all will LOVE!)

Rick and Daryl are not a couple. Because they are not. They aren't married. They don't have sex. They don't kiss. But if Michonne or Noah or anyone else is looking for one of them, they automatically ask the other first. If anyone, the original family or the new Alexandrians, see one without the other, they always ask about it. "Hey, nice day out. Where's Daryl?" Or "Nice work on the bike. Hey- where's Rick?"

Rick and Daryl are not a couple, even though they have a couple name from when Eugene was trying to ask where they were a little too quickly and it slipped out as "Rickyl" instead of "Rick and Daryl". Everyone used that moniker now, but it was created as a fluke so it doesn't really mean anything.

Rick and Daryl are not a couple. Despite the fact that Rick has literally responded to questions from Carl about going over to Enid's house too late at night with "I don't know Carl. If Daryl says it's ok then fine." Of course Daryl will say it's not ok, because although they are not a couple, it's been unspoken that Daryl plays the bad guy in things like that. He doesn't mind. Because even though they are not a couple, Daryl would do anything Rick needed of him.

So that's why it was strange when they kissed. And even stranger when they hadn't even noticed it.

\---------

Daryl had been out trying to teach Aaron to hunt. Despite the fact that the clean-cut, well-mannered, genuinely nice guy claimed he'd hunted before, Daryl had yet been able to see any proof of it. They got six rabbits on that first trip out. Correction. Daryl got six rabbits. Aaron missed sixteen. And wasted sixteen perfectly good bullets. 

The hunter had been out longer than he intended, really trying to give Aaron a chance, but by mid-day, Daryl had lost his patience and guided them back home.

When he entered the Alexandria home he shared with Rick, Carl, Judith, Michonne and Carol, he found the house eerily quiet. He strutted through the living room with four rabbits in his satchel just as Rick came out from the kitchen dressed in his blue uniform.

"Hey," Rick greeted, dropping his eyes to Daryl's muddy shoes tramping across the hardwood floors. "Are you really going to walk all the way through the house with muddy shoes and blood dripping out of your bag?

"Yeah."

"Daryl, we're finally back in civilization. Can't we act like it a little bit "

"Do you remember what we looked like three weeks ago? A little dirt and rabbit blood ain't gonna hurt anyone. 'Sides, Carole will clean it up. She's playing house keeper." Daryl slapped the bag of rabbits up on the kitchen counter.

"Carole plays housekeeper out there," Rick said, motioning out the window. "In here, I'M the one who's gonna clean that up. Who do you think folds your clothes? I'll give you a hint. It's not fucking Carol. She's out feeling everyone out in town and slowly stealing guns and ammo from the armory."

"Huh," Daryl said as he used a butcher knife to start skinning bunnies. Rick waited for more of a response, but even though they weren't a couple, he knew the man well enough to know the conversation was over.

"So rabbit for dinner then?" Rick asked as he came closer to the hunter to watch him work.

"Yeah. Rabbit ala Paprika. It's French. I just invented it. When Carol's not pilfering from the armory, she's pilfering from the pantry. Brought home like four jars of Paprika."

"How many rabbits ya get?" Rick asked as he checked his gun.

"I got six, but we're only eating four," he rolled his eyes. "Felt fucking bad and gave Aaron two. He's a horrible shot, but he tried like hell."

After flicking the first rabbit skin into the trash unceremoniously, Daryl wiped his hands on the back of his pants.

Rick just blinked at him, wide-eyed. "Are you gonna sit your ass on one of these nice chairs with rabbit guts all over you?"

"Probably," Daryl answered as he sliced into the next rabbit.

"Well, I'll clean it up when I get home." Rick relented, looking into the pot where Daryl had been throwing cut up chunks of rabbit and a few potatoes. "I'm sure it'll be good. I have to go meet with Deanna. I'll be back in time for dinner," Rick said with a grin and he leaned in and kissed Daryl on the lips. Not full on the lips, more like the corner of his mouth with about two thirds of their lips overlapping. Daryl leaned quickly into it without much reaction and then focused back on the rabbit. 

As Rick walked away, Daryl turned to him. 

"Hey, Rick,"

This would have been a good time to mention the kiss. To acknowledge it. Talk about it maybe. Figure out what it meant. It would have been the perfect time to discuss it... if either of them had really recognized that it happened.

"Yeah?" Rick asked looking back.

"You picking Judy up after or you want me to get her?"

"I'll get her," Rick answered and as he disappeared into the living room he yelled, "Do I like paprika?" 

"Yeah, you love it." Daryl shouted back, over the sound of his knife slicing through potatoes. "It was in that egg thing from last week that you stuffed your face with."

Rick and Daryl weren't a couple. Even though they kissed- It didn't count because they barely noticed it happening. Even though they knew what kinds of food one another liked- It didn't count because they just happened to always be eating together. Yes, they coordinated who would pick up the baby at the end of the day, but that didn't count because it could have just as easily been a conversation with Michonne or Carl about who would pick up Judy. It wasn't. Ever. It was always either Rick or Daryl. But it could have been anyone, really.

At dinner, Rick discovered that Daryl was right. He did, indeed, like paprika. The conversation around the table was pretty standard. Carl asked about going over to Enid's and Rick flicked his eyes to Daryl. 

"Home by 8. Before dark," Daryl said and Carl sulked but didn't argue. He knew the drill. 

Carol droned on about the different personalities in Alexandria. Who they could trust. Who they couldn't. She reported on how many more guns she pilfered and hid in their shared home. 

Michonne talked about peanut butter. A lot. And at arbitrary times during the conversation. "I hate rabbit," she said, forcing down a spoonful of rabbit stew.

"It's squirrel," Rick and Daryl both said at the same time. Not that they were a couple, but they thought alike. And they knew Michonne fell for the "it's not rabbit bit" every single time.

"It's not?"

"Nope. Squirrel. Might just taste off cause of all the paprika."' Rick said and looked over at Daryl with a wink.

"Yeah, maybe I just overdid the paprika," Daryl agreed, as Michonne tried another bite. 

As she chewed, Rick mouthed to the hunter, "you didn't over-paprika. It's good." Not that they were a couple, but Rick liked to compliment Daryl so he knew how important he was. The guy came from a bad family so Rick liked to take extra care to make sure his friend, because they were just friends, felt appreciated. It was just common courtesy. 

"You're right," Michonne said. "It's just the paprika. I'm not use to it."

"Well, get used to it," Carol said. "These idiots don't appreciate what it's like to eat rabbit... I mean squirrel... without any seasoning at all. And to be lucky to have it even if it's half-burnt and half-raw over a fire pit. So I took all the Paprika and if no one touches those water chestnuts soon, be prepared to get used to that too."

As Carl started to egg Carol on about his concerns that Alexandria might make them soft, Daryl and Rick took turns feeding Judith broth. Not that they were a couple, but they were both very involved in feeding and changing and entertaining their little asskicker.

Carl cleaned up after dinner without much complaint and left for Enid's. Carol and Michonne started their evening game of poker and Daryl grabbed a new book off the shelf and went up to his room. 

After Rick put Judy to bed and showered, he knocked quietly at Daryl's open door. The hunter looked up from behind a worn-out copy of _To Kill A Mockingbird_.

"Yeah?"

"Hey..." Rick started slowly. "Did I kiss you earlier today? Over the rabbits?"

Daryl cocked his head and stared up at the corner of the room as if the answer was hiding up there somewhere. 

"Yeah. I think you did."

Rick ran a hand through his hair. "Well, what the hell does that mean?"

"Don't ask me. You did it."

"You didn't stop me."

"Huh," Daryl said, deep in thought.

Rick stood at the door for a few moments, both of them just looking at each other, the book now folded closed and back on the night stand. 

"For the record, I feel like you should know that I'm a much better kisser than that," Rick said.

Daryl sat up straighter in the bed. "I don't believe you."

"You should. Cause I am. I mean. If I realized I was doing it, I'd have kissed the shit out of you," Rick insisted.

"Pffft. Please. You are so straight-laced. Don't let me get rabbit blood on the floors, making me take showers all the time. Hell, if it weren't for the apocalypse you'd probably be ironing those jeans."

"Why are they wrinkly?" Rick asked, sounding slightly alarmed as he looked down at himself. 

Daryl shook his head and laughed. "Just don't think someone like that is the kind of guy that could 'kiss the shit' out of anyone."

"I kiss good!" Rick insisted. "With teeth and tongue and passion. Hands! I get my hands involved, man. And I have soft lips. I do."

Daryl pushed himself up even further. "I don't believe you."

Rick shrugged.

It would be a weird thing to do, Daryl, who'd only gotten to second base twice with a couple girls and Rick who'd only been with Lori. It would be a weird thing to be a couple. To kiss the shit out of each other like a couple. But Daryl claimed he didn't believe Rick, and the leader wanted to make his point. 

Plus, with Daryl's eyes now blown so full they were black and with his slightly parted lips and his eyes that teased again 'I don't believe you'... Well, Rick had to kiss him. He had to. You either kiss a guy or you don't. And Rick wasn't going to leave this thing done half-assed.

He walked into Daryl's room, all bow legs and messy curls and that intense Rick Grimes gaze that could make Daryl forget his own name. The leader sat on the bed and Daryl kept hold of his gaze.

"So you're going to kiss the shit out of me now?" Daryl asked with a grin.

"Yeah. So you better get ready. Cause you're probably going to fall completely in love with me."

"You got a lot of confidence in this kiss of yours," Daryl said.

"I do."

Rick leaned in slow and Daryl put a hand to his chest. "Remember- you promised passion.. And teeth."

"I got this," Rick said. And he firmly placed his lips to Daryl's, this time covering them completely with no question about why they landed where they did. Rick slid one hand into Daryl's hair to steady his head and let the other creep up under his shirt to run slow and flat over abs and nipples, tangling fingers into soft curls of chest hair. His lips clicked into place with Daryl's like Lego pieces, snug and like they were made to connect. He kissed and licked his way into Daryl's mouth, exploring him with his tongue as he pulled Daryl tighter to him with the hand that was caressing the back of the hunter's head. He slid the other hand around to Daryl's back to pull his chest closer. Their lips fought for dominance as the kiss went on. Daryl tasted like toothpaste and fresh air and it was now Rick's new favorite flavor.

Daryl tilted his head to encourage more of Rick. More soft lips, and slick tongue and soft moans. Their lips moved together like the flicker of flames, hot with alternating changes in intensity. And Daryl liked the way it felt. Intimate and personal and intense and just all Rick. 

The leader slowed the tangle of lips after probably seven or eight long minutes, biting lightly and tugging at Daryl's bottom lip as he backed away. Before he could back too far away, Daryl's hands suddenly grasped onto his hips and the hunter knelt up and leaned Rick back down flat onto the bed, the hunter now initiating the kiss. The feel of Daryl's body completely on top of him elicited a low growl from Rick. 

The growl went straight to Daryl's core and he let his lips trail down from Rick's lips to his stubbled chin to his throat.

"Told you you'd fall in love with me," Rick said, arching his neck up in supplication to the hunter like surrendering prey.

"Pretty sure I already was, man," Daryl murmured against the long line of Rick's exposed throat.

"First of all," Carl said from the open doorway, "'If you guys are just NOW figuring out that you're in love, then you're bigger idiots than the Alexandrians. And second, if you tell me I have to be home by 8, you need to be done this," he waved a hand towards them, "by 8. Or at the very least shut the damn door."

Daryl lay on top of Rick staring at Carl while Rick remained underneath, seeing the boy upside down. 

"Go to bed," Rick said without moving.

"Is that all you have to say?" Carl asked incredulously. 

"Listen to your father," Daryl added in solidarity.... And because by this point, one on top of the other, both with kiss swollen lips and hearts beating out of their chests... they were pretty much a couple.

**Author's Note:**

> It should be noted that I wrote this on my cell, in bed, in one shot, after midnight. So if it sucks... There are many reasons why! Hopefully it's ok though!
> 
> (For anyone concerned- I will still be posting my regularly scheduled daily Blooms chapter later as well!)


End file.
